Propriety
by AbiMF
Summary: Ginny had long ago realised that she was in love with Hermione Granger, in much the same way as she had accepted these feelings would never be reciprocated. What will happen when the two girls spend the summer together? Eventual femmeslash x
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, and I'm sure that's probably been done before as well!**

_A/N: Heya! Not sure how long this is going to be, or quite where it's going, but it will be eventually femmeslash, so if that's not your thing I'd steer clear! It's sort of set the summer after Ginny's taken her OWLs, but only from an age sort of thing, as far as plot is concerned I'm pretty much ignoring Voldemort, and we're to assume nothing's happened between Ginny and Harry, and Hermione and Ron split up about a month previously. So yeah, very AU! Hope you enjoy:_

"… Listen, I've got to go, I have stuff to do, but I'll see you soon, yeah?" the girl in the fireplace told her, giving her a small smile.

Ginny tried not to let her shock and hurt at the abrupt dismissal show, as she forced her face into something resembling a smile, "Sure, see you soon…" she paused, debating whether or not it would be deemed proper to say it. Oh, stuff propriety, "luffoo." She pronounced the 'f' clearly, not wanted to be misunderstood, but Hermione's face still seemed to cloud over slightly before she disappeared from view.

Ginny closed her eyes, sighing with despair before reaching out towards to the space where her friend ("but you don't see her like that, do you?" an unkind voice in her head whispered) had been only moments before. "I love you," she whispered, not bothering to disguise the meaning this time and feeling like a clichéd character from one of the romance novels she secretly loved to lose herself in. She sat staring into the fire, feeling sorry for herself, for a few moments longer before heaving a sigh and pulling herself to her feet, padding softly towards her bedroom.

Now in bed, Ginny bit her lip as she stared unseeing into the darkness. Why? Why did she have to fall for her female, straight best friend? Why couldn't she have fallen for Harry, like everyone expected her to? Why did she have to fall in love with the smartest, funniest, kindest, most beautiful witch that she knew? Closing her eyes against the threatening tears she rolled over, attempting to fall asleep.

"_Ginny? Ginny, over here!" She turned, smiling as she saw the one person who could always brighten up her day._

"_Hermione! How are you?" her tone was excited, __and the older girl must have noticed, because she grinned, crossing the room towards to redhead and opening her arms, greeting her with a friendly hug._

"_I'm alright Ginny, better now I'm here with you though; the boys are driving me mad!"_

_Ginny giggled, looking up through her eyelashes in a slightly flirtatious manner as she spoke, "I don't drive you mad then?"_

_Hermione raised her eyebrows, leaning down to position her lips right next to her girlfriend__'s ear as she spoke in a sensuous whisper, "Quite the contrary, you drive me completely mad," she pressed a butterfly kiss to the top of her jawbone, just below her ear, making Ginny shiver slightly as Hermione continued, "Somehow, though, I don't seem to mind it as much when it's you…" she pulled back, smirking slightly at the expression on the redhead's face before turning away and making to leave the hall._

_Ginny stood, frozen for a couple of moments before she came to her senses, hurrying after Hermione and catching up with her just as she left the hall, grabbing hold of the other girl's arm gently to prevent her from leaving, "Where are you going?" she asked hurriedly, her voice a mixture of hurt and bewilderment._

_Hermione raised her eyebrows, glancing around and keeping her voice low, "Somewhere slightly more private. I haven't seen you for a week, and I'm not about to greet you properly in front of that lot!"_

_Ginny laughed, slipping her hand into that of the older girl as they slipped around the corner and out of sight, before she was pulled through a small door she'd never noticed before and into a deserted room. She glanced around in confusion, wondering where they were, and turned back to Hermione to ask. The words never left her mouth however, because just as she was about to speak she suddenly found her lips covered by the other girl's, her eyes closing instinctively at the sensation as she wrapped her arms around Hermione's waist. God she'd missed this…_

"Ginny? Ginny, wake up, it's time for breakfast!" Molly's voice came up the stairs, pulling the redhead from her decidedly pleasant dream and back into the realms of reality.

Groaning softly as she realised she'd been dreaming of her _again, _she sat up, calling down to her mother, "Yeah alright mum, I'll be down in a minute." She swung her legs over the side of her bed, sitting still for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the light and her head stopped spinning from sitting up so fast, and wondering when it would stop. She'd really, _really_ thought she was getting somewhere this time, having found herself able to go for hours at a time without finding her mind full of thoughts of the brunette, but she knew from experience that the dream would mean she'd be lucky to escape for a few minutes for the next couple of days.

Sighing, she got up and threw on her dressing-gown before making her way downstairs, reflecting that the traitorous actions of her subconscious had almost certainly put her recovery time back by at least a couple of weeks. Still, she supposed, what was a couple of weeks when compared with years? She paused on the landing, closing her eyes momentarily against the wave of depression that always hit when she thought about how long she'd been in love with her best friend. It was pathetic, really, the fact that she couldn't move on.

It wasn't as though Hermione was the only girl that she knew, not at all, and it definitely wasn't that the brunette was giving her any encouragement. Ginny would have known if she had, because she found herself going over every single conversation she had with the older girl in the following hours, searching it for signs of her feeling the same. Sometimes, just sometimes, there would be a split second where she'd have been turned away, and she'd turn back to Hermione and for a moment the look in the other girl's eyes would seem to resemble her own. But then it would be gone again, and she'd realise that she'd imagined it again, and she would have to realise once again that Hermione had never, did not, and would never feel anything but friendship towards her.

It had been okay at first, almost exciting even as she finally realised why she never felt the same things for guys that her friends were always going on about. She said she did, of course, but in reality it wasn't until she began to see Hermione in a different light that she understood what they were talking about, love and lust and desire and everything else that came with it, all the emotions that she'd suddenly understood in a split second very much like that morning.

It had been a dream then, too, that had opened her eyes to the reality of her feelings, and for a few months she had just been biding her time. After all, she'd reasoned, it was impossible for her feelings to be that deep without them being reciprocated, wasn't it? It was almost inevitable, what with her and Hermione being so close. She laughed hollowly when she thought back to that time now, how naive she'd been. Because the feelings weren't reciprocated, of that much she was sure, but now every day they were getting stronger, she realised that now, and there were more and more times when propriety flew out of the window and she found herself saying or doing little things to try and relieve at least part of the ache to just tell the other girl how she felt.

Hermione's face from the night before swam into her mind, the slight look of confusion and something else Ginny couldn't quite identify when she'd said 'luffoo'. She felt a little ridiculous now, who actually _said_ that at sixteen anyway? But it had saved from confessing all for a few more days, and for that she was thankful. Taking a deep breath to clear her head, she turned back towards the stairs, knowing she needed to get down to the kitchen soon unless she wanted her mum to wonder what was up. It was two days into the summer holidays, and Hermione and Ron had broken up only a month ago, so it was quite likely she might be able to get through the next six weeks without having to see the older girl. The thought made her heart twist painfully, but she ignored it, trying to be pragmatic. If she didn't see Hermione for six weeks, then maybe she could finally move on, and escape from this painful situation.

The thought brought a small, determined smile to her lips. Yes, she resolved, she was going to move past this, and the time away from the brunette would provide a perfect opportunity for that. Now smiling properly, she made her way downstairs, and entered the kitchen, freezing as she noticed an extra head at the table. The figure looked up with a smile, whatever had been bothering her the night before forgotten, "Hi Ginny!"

Ginny gulped, trying to put the images from her dream out of her mind and look unbothered by this new development, "Er, hi Hermione."

Her mother appeared, quickly pulling her off to the side of the room with a slight frown of concern, "Ginny dear, I'm not sure what, but something's happened between Hermione and her parents, she asked me if she could stay here for the summer, sounded quite desperate too. She's cheered up a bit since she got here, but something's not right love, and you know what things are like between her and Ron at the moment; you'll look after her, won't you? I've told her she can share your room."

Ginny nodded instinctively, her head spinning. So much for getting over Hermione, it would be all she could do not to confess all to the other girl. It was going to be a long six weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: -Ducks from flying objects- yes I know, I know, it's been something rediculous like a year since I last updated this, but I honestly didn't forget it! I haven't actually written anything of any quality since the first chapter of this, apart from clearing out my hard drive to post a couple of old bits I've been completely disconnected from fanfic. Hopefully, this should come along a little now, albeit slowly. So, here you go:_**

**Chapter 2**

Breakfast was a quiet affair; after the initial polite enquiries of well-being Ginny and Hermione had fallen into a somewhat awkward silence borne of the knowledge that there was much they needed to discuss, and none of it could be mentioned in front of the boys. Or rather, in front of Ron, who Hermione had hardly said two words to since their decidedly acrimonious break-up a little under four weeks earlier. For Ginny, the silence was almost torture, the lack of conversation meaning she had nothing to distract her from the girl sitting next to her, squashed around the small table close enough that their arms brushed every time either of them moved, each moment of contact transporting Ginny straight back into the blissful torture of her dream and making her breath catch in her throat as she attempted to give nothing away.

It seemed hours later that they finally finished eating, Ron shooting away from the table as soon as he'd swallowed his last mouthful, earning himself a glare and an angrily hissed _'Ronald!'_ from his mother, and causing Hermione to tense in her seat. As tuned in to the girl to her left as she was, it was something Ginny didn't miss, and one glance at the brunette's expression told her some serious cheering-up was needed, "Mind if Hermione and I pop into the garden for bit mum?" she called across the kitchen, keeping her tone intentionally bright.

Molly smiled sympathetically, "Of course not, take as long as you want my dears."

Hermione rose silently, shooting Ginny a grateful smile as they stepped outside into the gentle sunshine, falling into step as they moved quickly away from the house and settled themselves in the shade of a nearby tree. There was silence for a moment, Ginny trying to find the right way to phrase what she knew needed saying, "Hermione?" She murmured eventually, pulling the older girl from her thoughts and causing her to glance towards her inquisitively, "Do you want to talk about it?".

The girl in question sighed, turning away slightly as her features twisted in a momentary flash of pain, "I… I'm not really sure Gin." Her voice was small, and uncertain, and so unlike her normal confident self that Ginny had pulled her into her arms before she had even thought about what she was doing.

"That's okay." The younger girl murmured, "you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to." Hermione shifted, wrapping her arms around the redhead's smaller frame and gripping onto her, burying her head in her shoulder and allowing herself to be comforted, if only for a moment, "Thank you," she murmured softly, causing Ginny to tighten her grip on her and begin to rub comforting circles between her shoulder blades. They lapsed into silence, both girls content to just give and receive the comfort each so desperately needed.

Suddenly, after a few minutes of comfortable silence, Hermione all but leapt to her feet, hurriedly wiping her eyes and extending a hand and a watery smile to her friend, "Up for a walk Ginny?"

The redhead blinked in surprise at the sudden change in mood, but nodded her assent as she allowed Hermione to pull her to her feet, "Sure, down to the river?" she asked expectantly, citing a route they'd walked many times before when needing to escape the house and unwanted ears for a little while.

Hermione smiled, "Suits me." She began to walk, pulling Ginny along with her by the hand, while the other girl tried very hard not to notice that they were still joined at the hand, or quite how perfectly the brunette's smaller hand fitted into hers. Of course, inevitably, she found her hand dropped as she fell into step with the older girl, closing her eyes momentarily against the pang at the loss of contact. She was distracted from her misery, however, when Hermione suddenly started speaking, her voice almost strangled.

"I just, I wish they could still see me." Ginny looked at her, her surprise showing on her face, but didn't respond, waiting patiently for her friend to continue, "I want to be Hermione again, Gin. Expected to do nothing more but try my best, and perhaps do well at school. I can even cope with the fact that they will never, ever understand Hogwarts, or me being a witch, or anything about the wizarding world. But why is that my fault? Why is it wrong? If I do well at school, then I think I'm better than them, or I'm 'losing touch with my roots', but if I get less than an O, then I'm not trying hard enough, or not making the most of what they've given up for me. If I'm in my room working, then I'm unsociable, but if I'm chatting to you then I must never talk to them anymore because they don't know all my friends inside out. If I'm out, it's wrong, if I'm in, it's wrong, whatever I do it's always bloody wrong!"

She stopped walking, turning away from Ginny and breathing heavily as she tried to get her emotions back under control, "I'm sorry Gin, I didn't mean to… lose it." She muttered, regretfully. Ginny stepped forwards, placing a hand gently on the taller girl's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off as Hermione whirled around, "Don't!" She snapped, before softening at the hurt look in the younger girl's eyes, "I'm sorry, just, if you keep being nice I'll completely break down!" She laughed hollowly, trying to ignore the look of concern in Ginny's eyes and the almost overwhelming desire to throw herself into the other girl's arms and stay there until this had all gone away.

Ginny gave a gentle smile, holding her hands up in surrender, "Okay, no hugs, I promise. But you have to talk to me Hermione, you shouldn't let it get this bad. If something's bothering you, tell me, you don't have to deal with it on your own, ever." She looked up, meeting the brunette's eyes and gasping slightly at the desperation she saw there, almost reaching for her before she remembered herself, taking a calming breath before continuing, "Okay, I have an idea."

Hermione looked at her, confused, "An idea?" she asked suspiciously.

Ginny grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her back towards the house, "Don't sound so worried! Perfect solution to any problem… we're going shopping!"

Hermione frowned again, "Shopping?" She repeated dubiously.

"You know, for an absolute genius you can be surprisingly thick! Yes, shopping, and not for school books either!" She tugged the brunette onwards, all but running towards the house as she inwardly prayed her mother would see the situation for what it was, and break her cardinal rule of no non-essential shopping trips. Although, she mused, this could almost count as essential considering how uncharacteristically emotional Hermione has been earlier.

They entered the house hand in hand, causing Ron's eyebrows to shoot into his hairline and both girls to glance at each other in surprise, then flush simultaneously as they broke the contact, Ginny clearing her throat hurriedly, "Mum?" She called, causing Molly to turn from her position at the sink, sweeping her eyes over both girls as she made a quick and accurate assessment of the situation, not missing the slight redness around Hermione's eyes nor the remaining concern in Ginny's, mixed with the trepidation of asking a question she desperately needed a positive answer to, "Do you mind if Hermione and I pop into Diagon Alley for a couple of hours, perhaps grab an ice-cream?"

There was a pause as Molly considered the request, running pros and cons and the family budget quickly through her head before nodding, smiling in Hermione's direction as she spoke, "Okay, just make sure you're back for lunch, okay?" She reached into her pocket, pulling out a couple of coins before pressing them into her youngest's hand, then speaking quickly to distract attention from the movement, "You know where the floo powder is, just make sure you speak clearly." She flicked her eyes towards Harry, her tone amused, before ushering the girls away to disappear upstairs in search of cardigans and purses for the impromptu shopping trip.

Hermione felt Molly's eyes on her as she left the kitchen, and noticed Ginny's concerned glances as they made their way up the stairs. It should, she supposed, have irritated her. But, after the time she'd been having at home, it was just quite nice to have someone look out for her.

_**Well? Worth the wait? Actually, don't answer that :P Review if you love me :D x**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **__So, one chapter a year, how's that for you? :P I'm sorry, truly I am, and I will try and get more of this out quicker for you. It's not a lack of time, but simply that I can lose inspiration for months on end, but I know that's no excuse. I just came to the end of a wonderful fic that was abandoned three years ago, and found myself literally begging the author to continue when I reviewed. I'm not going to pretend my writing inspired anything near that amount of emotion, but I will promise you, this will NOT get abandoned, it might take me years to complete… well, it's already taken me years to get this far, but I promise you, I WILL complete it. Here you go:_

**Chapter 3**

It was only a little over ten minutes later that the two girls found themselves stepping out of the fireplace and into the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley, the busyness and cheerful chatter a welcome change from the tense silence that had surrounded the Burrow since Hermione's arrival that morning. For a moment the older girl stood still, frozen with confusion as the where exactly to go – unused to having arrived shopping without a destination already in mind. Her confusion didn't last long, however, as moments later she felt a tug on her arm and turned to face Ginny, finding the other girl grinning at her in amusement; "Honestly, you're really not very good at this girly shopping trip thing, are you?" the younger girl teased, sticking out her tongue to remove any sting the words might otherwise have had, "Now, first things first, do we need to make a stop at Gringotts?"

Hermione opened her purse, peering inside and shrugging, smiling slightly at her friend "That depends on how much you're going to manage to talk me into spending, but I think I should be alright for now."

Ginny grinned back at her, then leant across and linked her arm through the other girl's dragging her off down the road, chattering away; "Now then, it's up to you what we do first, there's Madam Malkin's; buying new robes always cheers me up, or we could pop in to see the twins, maybe get you a pygmy puff, if they don't make you smile I don't know what will…"

And so the shopping trip began, with giggles and light conversation, both girls more than aware of the fact that this trip was intending to be a welcome distraction from Hermione's on-going problems, and that even if discussions about quite what was upsetting her did need to take place, now was not the time for them.

Both girls was caught up in the enjoyment of just spending time with each other, savouring the rare occasion of having nothing to do but enjoy each other's company and all the intricacies of Diagon Alley, and so it came as a shock to both girls when Hermione glanced absent-mindedly at her watch and stopped dead, grabbing hold of Ginny's arm to get her attention, "Gin, it's half-past one! Your mum's going to kill us!"

Ginny winced at the truth in the words, "Quick, the nearest floo point's down here, come on!" And grabbing hold of the older girl's hand she ran off down the road, Hermione trying to stick close to her as they dodged groups of witches and wizards on the way to their destination. Ginny reached into her pocket as they reached the fireplace, grabbing a handful of floo powder and dragging Hermione in with her as she shouted the words; "The Burrow!"

The world flashed green for a moment, and then the two girls arrived, tripping over one another and landing in a heap on the carpet as they failed to fit together in the much smaller fireplace at the Burrow. There was a moment of silence, as the occupants of the house turned to look at the new arrivals, and then a muffled voice was heard; "Hermione, you're lying on my head."

The girl in question leapt up, pulling her friend to her feet, still somewhat breathless from their run to the fireplace, "Sorry Ginny." And then she looked at her companion, taking in the soot that had got smeared across her face, and, somehow, covered one arm of her jumper, and the piece of red hair that had got tangled and was now sticking directly outwards from the side of her head. And suddenly, she started to laugh, causing a bewildered raised eyebrow from her friend, "Sorry Gin, it's just, well, you do look funny!"

Ginny raised both eyebrows, "You wouldn't exactly win an award for cleanliness yourself 'Mione!" And then she too started to laugh, her friend's amusement infectious, the laughing fit only made worse when they turned to face the rest of the family and found them all staring at the two girls with matching expressions of bewilderment.

Their merriment was ended rather abruptly however, when Molly appeared from the back of the group, hands on hips, looking thoroughly unimpressed, "Ginny Weasley, did I, or did I not SPECIFICALLY tell you to be back here in time for lunch?"

Ginny averted her eyes to the ground, "yes mum."

"And how, precisely, is this in any way time for lunch?"

Ginny opened her mouth to reply, but Hermione stepped in, sounding nervous in the face of Mrs Weasley's obvious irritation, "It's my fault Mrs Weasley, Ginny didn't have a watch with her and I just forget to check mine… we lost track of time, I'm sorry if we worried you."

Ginny watched in astonishment as her mother's entire demeanour changed in an instant, hands falling from her hips as the angry expression on her face was replaced by a tender one. She didn't _think_ Hermione had done it intentionally, but everything about her statement, from the nervous way she spoke it, the inability to look the woman she was addressing in the eye to the ready admission of guilt and apology had played on every one of her mother's instincts and defused what could otherwise have been a nasty argument, "Yes, well okay girls, this once. Now come on, you must be hungry."

And she bustled off to the kitchen, leaving Ginny to shoot Hermione a grateful look, while the older girl simply shrugged, speaking quietly, "Well I wasn't about to let you take all the blame. It _wasn't_ your fault, and you've cheered me up no end this morning."

Ginny grinned, reaching across to squeeze her friend's hand, "I'm glad, you're more than welcome."

Once she'd made both the girls lunch (despite Hermione's assertions that she was more than happy to make her own) Molly disappeared into the garden, leaving the two alone in the kitchen. For a few minutes, there was silence, both girls concentrating on their food and caught up in their own thoughts. Then Ginny glanced across the table, and caught a look of such sadness on the other girl's face that it took all of her self-control to stop her crossing to her side and gathering her into her arms. She couldn't, however, manage to stop herself reaching across the table and squeezing Hermione's hand, smiling gently when surprised eyes met hers, "Please tell me what's wrong sweetheart, I might…"

What she might have been able to do however wasn't discovered, as Hermione pulled her hand away as though burned, her eyes flashing with first pain, and then anger, "What did you just call me?"

And all at once Ginny stopped breathing, the colour draining from her face as she realised what she'd said… _'sweetheart'_ oh, why had she been so stupid? She looked up at her friend, desperately searching for the words to explain, "Hermione, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No" Hermione muttered angrily, glaring at her friend, "Of course you didn't mean it. I'm going upstairs to do some work." And she left the table, turning quickly before the younger girl could see the tears in her eyes and all but running up the stairs to the relative sanctuary of the room they shared, knowing she was most likely safe from Ginny coming after her, at least for a little while.

And she was right, because Ginny was still where she had been left, sat at the kitchen table, her face pale and her hands shaking as she wondered quite how so had been so _idiotic_. She'd just been so caught up in the vulnerability that her friend had been showing that her guards had dropped, and out slipped a name that she had always called her in her head. Sweetheart indeed. Not Ginny's she wasn't, and nor would she ever be.

Hurt, and cursing herself, the youngest Weasley dropped her head into her hands, allowing herself, once again, to cry for the girl who had stolen, and repeatedly broken, her heart. And perhaps, if she hadn't been so distracted by the pain of it splintering once again as the older girl pulled away from earlier, she might have noticed the words that had been spoken, or the way her friend's voice almost broke as she hissed them, or even that the look of heartbreak wasn't only in her own eyes. But she hadn't noticed. And so, in two different rooms of the same house, two girls cried.

_Yes__, __I'm__aware that that is a bit of a cliff-hanger, and so I will do my best to get the rest to you as soon as possible. I know I probably deserve a slap rather than a review, but I'd love one if you wouldn't mind leaving me one x_


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